Images
from the
Fire, Smoke, and Air-Quality Network (FSAN)
A pilot project to evaluate and demonstrate the application of
information technology in developing an integrated network of fire, smoke and
air quality data and tools.
The
management of fire, smoke, and air quality is tasked to multiple agencies at
federal, state, and local levels. The diversity in data collection methods,
data reporting requirements, data formatting schemes, data analysis methods,
and data presentation create a daunting challenge for the integration of these
data. However, integration of these heterogeneous datasets is precisely what is
called for by federal and regional organizations in order to derive a more
comprehensive understanding of forest fires, including particulate matter
emissions, and their impacts.
A
recent GAO report, Geospatial
Information: Technologies Hold Promise for Wildland
Fire Management, but Challenges Remain, outlines some of the challenges
facing the fire, smoke and air quality management communities. Agencies are
challenged in collaborating because of inconsistencies in data and the systems
used to collect, organize, and disseminate the information. A number of projects, committees, and
interagency efforts are being undertaken to provide new ways of collecting,
storing, and analyzing data to make fire management easier. This pilot project
aims to develop IT solutions to integrating these efforts and providing simple
methods for sharing data and tools among these efforts.
The
pilot project uses software “middleware” components to link to and transform
disparate data and offer them to end users through an easy-to-use web browser
front end. The middleware components, based on web services and data standards,
handle the data transformations and integration ‘behind the scenes’ and provide
end users with the level of detail they desire; whether “raw” data or
“value-added” information such as maps of fire locations or patterns of
emissions. The data and tools included
in the network are based on input from the user community.
The
middleware components are built using DataFed.net,
a spatial-temporal framework that enables multi-dimensional data access and
displays (i.e. maps and time series). The fire, smoke, and air quality network
extends the DataFed.net infrastructure to accommodate new data types for fire
and smoke applications and creates new web services for advanced fire-related
data display and analysis.
Project Contacts:
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Center for Air Pollution Impact and Trend Analysis (CAPITA) |
|
|
Environmental Engineering Science Program Rudolf Husar Mechanical Engineering Department |
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Last Updated May 5, 2004